


radiance (or, rather, what it means to be enchanted by it)

by nsykdk



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Pining, and subaru being soft, but!!! but he doesn't realise it, confessing in a moonlit garden, hokuto also being very obvious with his feelings, hokuto being dense, hokuto gazing lovingly at subaru, yes that's the way to go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nsykdk/pseuds/nsykdk
Summary: It doesn't really happen how he thinks it should have gone.But, in the end, it doesn't matter.
Relationships: Akehoshi Subaru/Hidaka Hokuto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	radiance (or, rather, what it means to be enchanted by it)

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe there were _only_ 39 works in the SubaHokke tag before I wrote this and it just pains me to see how underappreciated SubaHokke is...  
> They're so pure and I love them for being so sweet and caring for each other...  
> I wanted to portray a sense of serenity, like moonlight.
> 
> tl;dr: soft suba and a very uncertain hokke but they're both in love

"You'll catch a cold like that, Akehoshi."

"I know."

From the shadow of the doorway, Hokuto sighs, but Subaru only smiles. Quietly, the moon shines its gentle light across his features, across the serene, starlit smile.

"You can't see the stars from here, can you?" The grass is cold under his feet as Hokuto meets Subaru in the middle of the garden. Behind him, the two occupants of the little room overlooking the garden sleep peacefully.

"Who's the one catching a cold now, Hokke?" But Subaru's laugh is as light as the breeze that gently rustles the grass. "Did I wake you up earlier?"

Hokuto glances up, sees the city lights twinkle in place of the distant stars through the bare branches of the cherry tree. "I wouldn't have slept anyway."

For a moment, a serene silence blooms.

"We're kinda famous now, aren't we?" Subaru looks worried, even, when he meets Hokuto's gaze. "It still hasn't really set in. When we formed Trickstar- when we decided to stage a rebellion..."

Ah- it feels like an eternity ago. Endless days of practice, of laughter echoing from the sunset to the stars twinkling in the sky. The brightness of the stage, the radiance of the penlights shining through the rainbow of seasons, chasing the dream of the SS-

And the night under the cherry tree whose buds were yet to bloom - the night where it had all began. The road towards the future had dimly revealed itself, illuminated by a single, shining star.

"It's been a rough journey." Hokuto finds himself smiling. "But we still have a long road ahead of us."

And here, the light bursts back into Subaru. That beautiful, captivating smile that stole the hearts of audiences around the nation-

"Like Sari said, right? _'As long as we're Trickstar, nothing will change.'_ " Eyes sparkling, he reaches for the heavens, for the twinkling cosmos that stretches forever beyond the horizon.

Trickstar's brightest shining star - Akehoshi Subaru. A natural talent, a born genius with a radiance unlike any other. After all, who wouldn't be drawn to the light?

Entranced- Hokuto would be lying if he said he wasn't.

At first he passes it off as incompetence - getting distracted easily because of friendship, or because of Subaru's mischief, but by then he knows that he's lying to himself. He tells himself, at night, when there's nothing but the memories of each brightly coloured day left, that Hidaka Hokuto definitely does not like Akehoshi Subaru, and _most definitely is not_ in love, but then he sees the bundle of orange the next day and the lies all crumble to pieces.

But he keeps it silent, because for all he's worth, it's nothing but an impossible dream. Winning the SS _and_ Subaru's heart? Perhaps in his next life, maybe, if he meets Subaru again.

"Hokke. Earth to Hokke." It's so light, so nonchalant. "You know, if you keep looking at me like that, I'll get tempted."

Sometimes, he thinks about how nice-

"Wait. Tempted?" Hokuto stops. He doesn't understand, what would Subaru be tempted- "What are you laughing at, Akehoshi?"

How can he just laugh like that? ~~It's too beautiful.~~

Would the sound of wind chimes tinkling on a breezy summer's day be too cliché?

"Ahaha!" The way his eyes crinkle, and then the way he claps his hand over his mouth, realising the other two are still asleep, probably; it's all too much. "You said you were dense, but you really _are_ dense."

"I," Hokuto starts, but he's not even sure what to say. Quietly, he closes his mouth, and as the chilled breeze flutters his clothes, he realises how warm his face has become. "I don't understand."

"Even Sari and Ukki have probably realised by now," Subaru muses, and it just doesn't make sense. "Hokke?"

Hokuto doesn't know if he's just refusing to comprehend, or if Subaru's just playing tricks on him again.

But Subaru only lets his eyes soften into a gentle smile that melts Hokuto from the inside out. "I said, If you stare at me like that, I'll get tempted to do this, you know?"

A hand threads itself gently into Hokuto's hair, and slowly, like time itself slows down, Subaru steps in, eyes already fluttering closed, and Hokuto just hears his heartbeat thunder, once, twice, three times before his hands find Subaru's shoulders.

"No, Akehoshi-"

Subaru jumps back immediately, and immediately Hokuto realises it's the worst thing he could have done. The scared look on his face, those hurt eyes-

_Oh, Hokuto, what did you do?_

"I'm sorry," Subaru gasps immediately, "I thought- I thought it was because...you- you like- I jumped to conclusions, and-"

Just seeing Subaru look so downcast breaks Hokuto, and the glistening in Subaru's eyes that isn't just the reflection of the stars - it just pains him so much.

"No," he says, quickly, before Subaru slips away from him. "I- I do, I just- it all just overwhelmed me, and-"

And the words just run away, not even fragments being able to express the multitude of feelings bubbling up inside that Hokuto can't even name. And Subaru-

Stepping forward, Hokuto leans his forehead on Subaru's shoulder.

"Akehoshi, can I start again?"

"Mm," comes the reply, in Subaru's gentle voice. "You can start again as many times as you want, Hokke."

"I- I, um-" Hokuto bites his lip. But he can't just back away now, without saying anything, can he? "Is it okay if I...if I like you?"

It really _is_ like the sound of wind chimes on a breezy summer's day: fleeting, an infinitely beautiful tinkle that brings a flutter to Hokuto's crying heart. With a burst of willpower, Hokuto pushes himself off Subaru's shoulder, tentatively meeting the other's gaze.

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" Subaru smiles, but his eyes are brimming with tears. "Hokuto."

Perhaps it's just that pure, raw emotion with which Subaru whispers his name that shatters him.

A tear splashes onto the grass, but the rest are caught with a careful finger and a playful smile.

"Akehoshi-"

"Shh." Subaru tucks Hokuto into his shoulder again, gently stroking his hair. "You'll wake Sari and Ukki."

And when Hokuto is content, feet growing cold from the dewy grass, he lifts his head, a little more than embarrassed. Subaru is still there, still bathed in gentle moonlight.

"Can we try that again? The-"

Subaru picks up where Hokuto stutters, with a smile that shines brighter than a star. "Of course."

"Slowly," Hokuto mumbles, "please?"

"Anything, for you."

Together, they step in, drowned in the moonlight; for even if there are no stars in the sky, two brightly burning stars in a dim garden at midnight shine for each other's eyes only.

(Subaru does catch that cold, but it's okay, because Hokuto is there for him.)

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely adore the idea of Hokke wanting to take things slowly, either because he's unsure, or because he just wants to treasure and remember every moment he spends with Subaru, and Subaru's okay with it because the last thing he wants is to rush Hokuto ;v;  
> I really wanted to capture the warmth of Hokuto's gaze in the official art... but it turned into him monologuing instead *cries*
> 
> ...feed me trickstar content on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/starriestsmile)


End file.
